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Sunday night, residents in Corsicana listen to speakers after federal immigration agents conducted three days of house-by-house searches for immigrants in the U.S. unlawfully. (Photo credit/Dallas Morning News)

Update at 3:10 p.m.
Federal immigration officials said Monday afternoon that 27 Mexican immigrants with criminal convictions were arrested in North Texas in a four-day operation that ended Sunday.The convictions included driving while intoxicated, assault with bodily injury on a family member, purchasing/furnishing alcohol to a minor, engaging in organized criminal activity, alien smuggling and theft.

Only two of those arrested fell into ICE’s top priority for removal. They were for an individual with two driving while intoxicated convictions and another with a felony ID fraud conviction, said Carl Rusnok, ICE spokesman for the Dallas regional office. The arrested immigrants were 25 men and 2 women. One woman was released after her arrest because she was the sole care-giver to a small child.

“Our dedicated ICE officers play a significant role in helping make our communities safer by arresting convicted criminal aliens and removing them from the United States,” said Simona Flores, director of removal operations for the Dallas region. “By focusing our resources on the most egregious offenders, we ensure the very best of our resources, while immediately improving public safety.”

Last fiscal year, ICE removed about 316,000 persons nationwide, they said in a news release.

Immigrants said they believed more than 100 were initially apprehended, including some immigrants with legal residency. Those with legal immigration status can be deported, or removed, if convicted of certain crimes, an ICE official said.

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CORSICANA—Fear and distrust spread among Latino immigrants in this factory town of about 24,000 after three days of searches by federal deportation officials working with local law enforcement. Residents said they plan protests tonight at 6 p.m. during a council session at Corsicana City Hall.

“Do we want to become another Arizona?” said Patricia Hinojosa, a Mexican immigrant and a resident of Corsicana. Her reference was to the harsh measures Arizona took to fight back against illegal immigration. Some portions of the 2010 state law were struck down in federal courts.

The operation targeted those with criminal backgrounds but, by late Monday morning, officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement still did not provide detail on the number of people taken away or the convictions or charges they faced.

Unauthorized immigrants can be removed from the U.S. if they have convictions deemed significant, or three misdemeanors, other than minor traffic offenses, under federal immigration procedures outlined last November to prioritize deportations and use of resources. Recent arrivals who came unlawfully into the U.S. after Jan. 1, 2014 can also be apprehended, according to the November memo from Jeh Johnson, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Residents said in a Sunday night meeting that many taken away in house-by-house searches had committed non-violent offenses and that ICE agents didn’t have search warrants issued by a judge. It also appeared some didn’t know to ask for them when early morning knocks began in a mostly Latino neighborhood on 13th Street in south Corsicana. One community member said at least one business was visited by ICE agents in this city about 55 miles south of Dallas.

Hinojosa told about 50 people gathered at a community meeting at a church that some had “cargos,” or charges, including those involving domestic violence. But others had traffic tickets, such as driving without a license. “If we don’t stop this now, when?” she asked.

Anger was directed at Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner for assisting in the apprehensions. Tanner couldn’t be reached for comment Monday. Many of those apprehended were taken to a jail in Cleburne in Johnson County.

“You need to have a voice,” said Jose Manuel Santoyo, a Southern Methodist University student who went to school in Corsicana and is now helping residents. “You need to speak to the sheriff to get solutions.”

Santoyo said he believes more than 100 persons were arrested last week in Navarro County.

Update at 7:20 p.m.: The Corsicana Daily Sun reports the two men were from the Dallas area, according to Navarro County Justice of the Peace Connie Hickman.

Original post: Two men died after a 14-foot-long aluminum boat they were on capsized during a family outing on a private stock pond Saturday night in Corsicana.

Fernando Rodriguez, 43, and Francisco Gomez, 25, were riding in the boat with four children — a 12-year-old, a 7-year-old and two 2-year-olds — when the boat flipped over. Authorities responded to the incident around 6 p.m. Saturday.

Three of the children were able to escape the water immediately, said Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner. The other child, one of the 2-year-olds, was later recovered alive. Tanner said the child was taken to a Dallas hospital and was reportedly in stable condition.

One man was the father of one of the 2-year-olds, another was an uncle, Tanner said. Authorities are classifying the deaths as accidental drownings.